Roadside bomb kills 11 in Afghanistan

Herat (Afghanistan): A roadside bomb killed
11 people mainly from one family in northwest Afghanistan,
officials said on Tuesday, the latest civilians to die during the
Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.

The blast struck a police vehicle in Badghis province
yesterday, killing two officers plus nine civilians from the
same family including six children, two women and one man, the
interior ministry said in a statement.

It added that the police had been giving a lift to a "poor
and needy family" in Qadis district but Badghis provincial
council chairman Faizullah Azimi said the family`s vehicle had
been following the police truck.

"Their vehicle was struck by a Taliban-planted roadside
bomb resulting in the death of 11 people including 6 children,
two women, one man and two policemen," the ministry`s
statement said.

"Three others including one child and two policemen were
injured. Nine of the martyrs are members of the same family."
Interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi in Kabul called
the attack "cowardly".

The blast came days after Afghan Taliban leader Mullah
Omar urged his fighters to avoid civilian casualties in the
decade-long war.

On Friday, the Taliban published a statement on their
website attributed to Omar calling on fighters "to take every
step to protect the lives and wealth of ordinary people".

The statement, issued to mark Eid al-Adha, warned of
punishments under Islamic Sharia law for fighters responsible
for civilian deaths.